A word on the 'corporatisation' of cricket. T-20 has been till now more of an exercise in fun and frolic. Some of the reactions from the owners have been immature and childish to say the least. A Mallya questioning the cricketing acumen of a Dravid and a SRK doing the same with Dada is untenable. This format has been popular just because it is so unpredictable. To expect captains to bring in consistency when this format is at such a nascent stage is foolhardy and cynical. The fact of the matter is that we are almost through the IPL and there are still no definitive patterns emerging about what constitutes the winnability quotient. The Rajasthan Royals still have the two cricketers reviled the most in the first week of the tournament- Munaf and Kaif; the Kings XI Punjab have two cricketers who have become the laughing stock of the nation- Sree and V.R.V Singh; the Deccan Chargers, most people's favourites at the start are competing for the Wooden Spoon and the Delhi Daredevils, favourites midway through the tournament are in all likelihood not going to make the semifinals. While the Kings XI are succeeding through their power-packed batting, the Royals have their bowling strength to thank.
The only deduction that can be drawn is that the successful teams have good captains and backroom staff. But, again, Kolkata have though I hate to say it, the most successful Indian captain, the most successful coach and towards the start, the most successful international captain. Rahul Dravid has been mocked for picking a 'test side' but his reasoning behind that was fundamentally sound. One-day cricket when it started was dominated by the West Indies, the best test match side then and Australia have been the best T-20 side putting aside the WC aberration. Ironically, Dravid's two biggest flops have been Misbah and White, heralded T-20 specialists and his biggest hit, Wasim Jaffer, who unfortunately got injured.
The way forward maybe lies in scouting for the best available Indian talent, something the RCB and DC teams haven't done. But there is no way that you could have forecasted that at the start of the IPL. It is a fact that wouldn't have escaped The Wall's attention.Just give Jammy another chance, Mallya! He has led a side with under-performing foreigners with great dignity all through the IPL in face of all this criticism and the fierce determination and passion of his mate from yore, Kumble and his could be felt in their last game. He has re-invented himself all through his career much to the surprise and delight of supporters and consternation of opponents and I wouldn't be surprised if the man has the final laugh next year. Anybody waging bets on a RCB final next year? Meanwhile, I get back to supporting Sree and his Kings XI side this year.
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4 comments:
Can't agree with you more. The criticism of Dravid and other captains is completely unfair. But I can empathise with Mallya and Co. owning a T20 franchise is a huge investment and reults are expected.
RCB has turned out to be a team of overpaid underachievers(kind of like Houlier's Liverpool, sorry couldn't resist that jibe) but that is not Dravid or Charu sharma's fault. A batting line up of Virat Kolhi, Jaffer, Dravid, Kallis, Misbah, Cameron White and Boucher looked good despite the conventional batsmen at the top.
Cameron White heralded as a great potential hit in this form of cricket has been a greater flop than Ronaldinho in the last World Cup; and Shaun Marsh brought for pennies by Punjab is the most consistent batsmen in IPL.
The topsy-turvy nature of the IPL has probably been its greatest charm but as a consequence some highly fancied teams have ended up at the wrong end of the table.
Btw, how is life post IT-BHU?
I am in strong diagreement with your viewpoint on the 'coporotisation' of cricket. Having invested millions of dollars in teams,more than what many players might be deserving, the owners of IPL franchises do have a right to seek accountability for the poor performance of the team on the field. If dinda is spending nights in clubs, shaking his bums with pretty ladies, practicising to drop catches till wee hours. Don't you think SRK has a legitimate right to seek an explanation for the same.
People prefer to take jibe at CORPORATISATION but haven't they been able to see the other side of it. How else do u explain the new found spring in the steps of MUNAF PATEL ?? Just a few months he didn't gave ball a chase, now he is throwing himself around to stop that very same ball. Just a few months back if a bastman pelted him for four on successive deliveries, he would quitely walk back to his mark and run in again asking to be hit for another four. Now, a four in an over irritates him and prompts him to make changes in his field. This sense of purpose has been brought in the game by people like VIJAY MALLYA. People like Ganguly who haven't learnt to dive around in 15 years of their international cricket, have finally learnt the art at IPL in just one month.
Will continue wid the rest tomorrow.....
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